“Bitcoin is like all other currencies so what are the reasons that have suddenly made it so unlawful” said Atef Al Khateeb, a Cairo based Bitcoin trader who has set up a Facebook group to discuss the finer points of crypto-currencies and to help other new traders understand how to invest their money.

“It’s all commerce in the end, you win some, you lose some. Even the Prophet Muhammed was a trader”, he told Quartz.

The stateless digital currency has grown this week on the back of early Facebook investor, Peter Thiel’s bet rising in its price to over $15,000 after its bubble burst late last year with a sharp drop of 30% over six straight days.

There are no reliable figures on the number of bitcoin users in Egypt as its first bitcoin exchange only went live in August.

Bitcoin has been booming in other African countries such as Nigeria and Zimbabweowing to bypassing capital controls and weak foreign exchange markets.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency created from computer code.

It and other virtual currencies use blockchain, which records transactions that are updated in real time on an online ledger and maintained by a network of computers.

Its value surged as high as $19,500 in December from around $1,000 last January, but has slipped back after a series of warnings from governments and analysts about the risk and volatility associated with cryptocurrencies.